Mother Strange
"Mother Strange" is the 4th episode of Desperate Schoolboys: Missing Pieces. 'Plot' Aurora Strange, Mary's mother, is combing the hair of her five-year-old daughter as the two of them look into the mirror of the former's dressing table. "You're such a pretty young girl," Aurora comments, making Mary smile, and her daughter soon asks, "Were you pretty when you were my age, mother?" "Mary, my dear, you remind me of a young me," Aurora states, continuing to brush the girl's hair, "I wish you could stay like this forever." "Why?" Mary wonders, and Aurora replies, "Because right now… you're too young to have any problems." "Father says I'm too young for a lot of things," says Mary, "He doesn't spend much time with me." "That's what I meant…" Aurora states, a pained look suddenly flashing across her face. But before her daughter can ask her what she means, Aurora asks, "Would you like a French plait?" Mary nods happily, and calmly sits as her mother begins to carefully arrange her hair. "Of course, I wish the best for your future as well," Aurora continues, leading Mary to ask, "Do you think your future was the best one? With father?" "Of course," Aurora assures the young girl, however, she suddenly retracts her arm when she feels a twinge of pain, having bent her wrist in a painful way whilst plaiting Mary's hair. She quickly rolls up her sleeve to reveal a large bruise on her wrist, and her daughter notices this in the mirror. "How did you get that, mother?" Mary wonders, and Aurora tells the girl, "I… I sinned." Her daughter looks incredibly confused, but Aurora tells her to never mind, covering her wrist again and continuing to do Mary's hair. An eleven-year-old Mary is walking home from school alone in the peaceful seaside town she lives in; she is incredibly surprised to see an Ambulance parked outside her home, and rushes towards it. She soon sees her mother being taken out of the house on a gurney; she's not conscious, and her face is heavily bruised. "Mom?!" Mary exclaims, "What happened?!" It is then that Henry Strange steps out of the house, watching as his wife is loaded into the Ambulance van. "W-what happened to mom?" Mary asks, tears welling up in her eyes. Henry looks down at his daughter with a very serious expression and states, "Your mother has suffered a terrible accident. I'm afraid she fell down the stairs whilst cleaning. She should be out of the hospital in a manner of days. All we can do for now is pray for her recovery…" Mary cries further as her mother is driven away. We see Mary and Henry standing in a graveyard, dressed in black clothing.. The gravestone in front of them reads: Aurora Strange Loving wife and mother Mary hugs her father as tears continue to stream down her face, but as she does this, Henry simply takes out his cross necklace and kisses it. Back in their home, Mary is breathing heavily and says, "Oh, my God, I didn't think I would be able to make it through that…" "What did you just say?" Henry asks, his attention caught. Mary looks confused, and says, "I said… I didn't think I'd—" "No, before that," Henry tells her, "You… you took the Lord's name in vain." "Oh, I – I'm sorry, father," she says, trying to remain as polite as possible. "You know that goes against the third commandment, Mary…" Henry reminds her, as he begins to remove his belt. Category:Missing Pieces Category:Episodes